What to know about three Best FIFA Women’s Player finalists
World Soccer ruling body FIFA has revealed the three Best FIFA Women’s player finalist.Aitana Bonmati, Linda Caicedo and Jennifer Hermoso are locked in final battle for the prestigeous award for 2023, just as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are in running for the men’s category.
Aitana Bonmati, Linda Caicedo and Jennifer Hermoso have been announced as the three finalists for The Best FIFA Women’s Player Award 2023.
The winner of this honour, which recognises women’s football’s outstanding performer between 1 August 2022 to 20 August 2023, the date of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ final, will be revealed at a London ceremony on 15 January 2024.
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A total of 16 players were initially nominated for The Best FIFA Women’s Player award, having been chosen by a panel of experts. From this shortlist, the three finalists have been selected by an international jury comprising: women’s national team coaches, women’s national team captains, football journalists, and fans who voted on FIFA’s official website.
Aitana Bonmati
With a Women’s World Cup Golden Ball, UEFA Women’s Player of the Year award and Ballon d’Or already added to her creaking trophy cabinet this year, Bonmati is aiming for yet another major individual honour.
Her successes – a world crown with Spain, a domestic and European treble with Barcelona – speak eloquently enough for themselves. Yet it is the style with which this beautifully balanced midfielder has achieved these titles that has set her apart from some similarly successful peers.
Pep Guardiola, one of Bonmati’s Barça idols, had dubbed her the “women’s [Andres] Iniesta” and declared himself “completely in love with her for the way she plays”. Team-mate Irene Paredes described her simply as “a genius”, and such admiration – from team-mates, rivals, pundits and spectators – is now all but universal.
As a teenager, Bonmati was on the verge of moving to America to pursue her dreams. “I couldn’t see a way of making a living off football here… My parents and I were even talking about the University of Oregon, and what exams I’d take,” she recalled. Then, Barcelona made the key decision to turn professional, prompting an immediate change of heart. “In two years,” Bonmati said, “I went from, ‘Yes, I’ll go to the US’ to ‘Oh wow, I’m a full-time pro at Barça!'”
Linda Caicedo
She played in three FIFA Women’s World Cups in the space of a year, winning awards at both the U-17 and senior finals, and scooped the Copa America Femenina Golden Ball in between.
Along the way, Caicedo made the transition from talked-about prodigy to bona fide superstar, seeing herself compared to all manner of male and female legends.
Colombia icon Carlos Valderrama likened her to his old team-mate, Faustino Asprilla, and ‘Tino’ himself took that as a major compliment, describing his young countrywoman as “a marvel” and “a world phenomenon”.
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As a young child, Caicedo received a doll from her parents as a gift – and immediately asked for a ball and football boots instead. Her mother recalls her “kicking everything at home,” including kitchen utensils and that poor unwanted doll, adding: “She started playing soccer when she was in the womb!”
Jennifer Hermoso
“Jenni is one hell of footballer. She can play in any position… she’s spectacular, no-one takes the ball from her. We are talking about one of the best players in the world”.
Ivana Andres spoke for the entire Spain dressing room when she heaped these lavish compliments on Hermoso during the Women’s World Cup. The 33-year-old was already Spain’s all-time leading scorer when she arrived Down Under, but left having bolstered her stellar reputation yet further with three goals and two assists in La Roja’s triumphant campaign.
Having collected the adidas Silver Ball at the global finals, Hermoso will now be going for gold at The Best FIFA Football Awards.